We often have a tendency to regard the economy as a machine that is beyond the control of mere mortals like ourselves. We see it as something that is bigger than society, and something that our decisions and the responsibility that we take upon selves as we live our lives has no significant bearing on.

Unfortunately this is a dangerous and shortsighted outlook to have. While it may be true that the economy is like a machine, it’s a machine that’s made up of people, the money that they earn and spend, and the decisions that they make. The fiscal soundness with which we live our lives represents the grease in the cogs of the economy, and therefore determine how smoothly it is able to run.

The Social Nature of Our Economy
Whenever our economic system is struck down by turmoil, it’s often too easy to see it as a randomly occurring event. Too many people have too little understanding about the inner workings of the economy, and that narrow minded lack of foresight is what contributes to its unpredictability in the first place. We stand back, awestruck and aghast at the situation we currently find ourselves in, and we ask ourselves the question “how did it fail?” In truth, it would be much more fair to ask “what did we do to let it fail?”

It’s important to understand that the economy is an integral part of our social existence, the purpose of which is to weave us all together in a way that helps everyone progress measurably as a people, galvanizing us together as we hurtle forth through uncertain times. No matter how easy it may be to feel alone from time to time, society is built in such a way that we are all part of it.

Through interactions, we are all bound to one another. What happens to a small group of us affects all of society, even if only in a small way. There is a system of give and take built in to this community on which our lives are structured, and a lack of respect for the consequences of these metrics is exactly what lands us in a state of recession, such as the one we are currently experiencing.

The two primary types of people that we have occupying this system are those that believe in giving, and those that believe in taking. The precarious balance that is maintained by the actions of these two groups canceling one another out is how we stay afloat.

People Who Take Without Consideration
Whether or not you realize it, everyone, including yourself, has been a taker at some point or another in their lives. Everyone has gotten out of bed in the morning and asked themselves how they can get the most out of society. What can the world do for them today? This sense of self entitlement, however misplaced, is not without positive merit.

It can sometimes lead to the type of conspicuous spending that can help to fuel an economic restart. In the long term however, this type of thinking contributes little to the overall model of society. Those that see fit to leech off of our economic bloodstream without contributing anything significant to the wholeness of society are nothing more than a drag on our economy.

They are the barnacles that cause too much drag on what might otherwise be a speedy sea vessel. While that may sound a bit harsh and derogatory, it is true that detractions from the resources that run our society rob it of the means with which it would normally be able to do great things for all people. Perhaps unintentionally, these takers stand in the way of true progress through selfishness, and a combination of the lack of patience and an inability to see beyond their own life’s problems.

No better example can be thought of than the millions of perfectly healthy people who are fit to work that insist on sustaining themselves off of government welfare checks, and at the expense of all taxpayers. Through lack of motivation, or perhaps sheer laziness, these people have been convinced that freeloading is a viable option to being a contributory member of society. In their eyes, this sort of lifestyle is “good enough,” and they don’t feel the need to further develop their skills.

Some would place the blame on a system that is too lenient on people who do not require these types of handouts in order to survive. Without a doubt, government aid funding like this helps people who can’t help themselves get back on their feet, so that they can return to the working world and proceed to give back that which they’ve taken.

For honest, working people such as these, the economic bloodletting is a worthy investment. It is sad that every unnecessary government check that goes out to a member of society that simply does not wish to contribute serves only to cancel out the efforts of good, hard-working taxpayers. The millions of people who do nothing but ask themselves what society can do for them, and how they personally can get the most out of it, will be the ones who most contribute to its downfall.
The Selfless Providers of Service
Fortunately, there exists another type of thinker who, by their very nature, helps to hold the threads of society together; the givers. These are the people who start their days asking what they can do to give the most they can back to society.

They are tireless servants of a system that they wholeheartedly believe in, and they understand that their way of life will never survive if the whole of society does not work together to preserve it. They take their obligations to the people around them seriously, and are able to see that any economic recovery is going to be a group effort, and they are there to do their part.

It goes against their convictions to sit and wait for a handout, or to stand idly by and wait for a government entity to come up with a solution to their problems. Instead, they put their faith into the principles of free marketing, and play their roles as earnestly as they know how. You see these types of people everywhere, and they will be the true heroes of the economic upturn to come.

It is by their deeds that society will come to know a more enlightened state of being. These are the people who are not afraid to make investments of their own hard-earned money back into the system, unabashed by the fears caused by the turmoiled market.

This is not to say that the giving type of people don’t also take from the bread basket of society from time to time. They, like everyone else, consume government services, and exercise their public rights. The difference is all in their state of mind. It lies in their natural tendency to ask the question “what can I do to help?”

When you combine this enlightened attitude with a person of substantial material means, you have a force of economic rehabilitation to be reckoned with. It is these sorts of people who contribute to the theory of trickle-down economics, which stipulates that responsibly applied wealth provides a great service to society, and eventually leads to a more complete and healthy planetary civilization.

Undeniably, there is much more to the nature of society than its economic structure. Society has a warm, beating heart that feels every stimulus that acts upon it. By their acts of moral philanthropy, people who provide service to society instill upon it a profound sense of hope for the future. It can be as simple as a single kind act enacted upon a single stranger.

In time, good deeds get paid forward, and the resulting ripple effect will help to slowly break us all free of the mental bonds of past misfortunes. With any luck, this type of attitude will be contagious, and will eventually lead to the creation of the society in which everyone helps everyone else to be happy, rather than one in which people climb on one another just to get what they want. Perhaps we will be that fortunate in years to come.

3 Responses to “The World Economy Crisis – A Crisis in Human Consciousness”

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